Three Rules For Business Survival

Three Rules For Business Survival -- Indeed Prosperity -- In a Results-driven Melt-Down Global Economy.

Color Commentary for Wednesday, October 15, 2008
By E. R. Haas, CEO ThinkTQ, Inc.



No question, the competition is relentless. Some say ruthless. Will your company prosper in this "Results-driven" Melt-Down global economy—or find itself on the path to organizational extinction?

Every organization in America is experiencing fallout from this hyper-competitive, perform-or-perish global economy. Are you heading down the same path that led to the demise of Wa Mu, Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers, K Mart, United, US Air, Polaroid, Enron, WorldCom, Federal Mogul, Montgomery Ward... and the bankruptcies of countless small/personal business in the last couple of years?
How can you be sure?

While the rules of business haven't really changed, they are being strictly enforced! If you want to assure your organization's success, take action now to improve your Comparative Advantage, PVR and TQ. Otherwise, the next few years are going to be significantly more challenging than you can even begin to imagine.
"It is not necessary to change.
Survival is not mandatory."
~ Dr. W. Edwards Deming
I highly recommend that you PRINT this article and invest the 7 minutes it takes to read it. It may change the way you look at your organization's success potential... and your chances for surviving the next 2 years of market turbulence and relentless competition. Please feel free to Email Me with questions/comments.

Who am I to give you business advice? I'm one of those guys who turned my MBA Thesis into a $150 Million company.. and built many different kinds of businesses... from manufacturing... to financial services... to software... to internet publishing!

About ThinkTQ, Inc.

ThinkTQ, Inc. is the world's leading publisher of virtual training products for personal and professional excellence. We have the SYSTEMS, TOOLS and TECHNOLOGY to help you put you and your organization on the fast-track to success.

To ease the burden of this Melt-Down global economy, we are GIVING AWAY 10 million TQ Personal Training Programs... representing a combined value of over $1.6 Billion dollars.

Why?

To help put America back on the economic fast track—by giving YOU the tools to immediately produce better results.

Fact: Times are getting tougher. Are you?

"If you want to WIN in business... whatever business you are in...read this book!"
~ Mardi Durgin, VP

It's not that times are changing.

It's that times have changed.

The melt down of the global financial system, accelerating mergers, market consolidations, downsizing, major corporate bankruptcies, offshoring, benefit give-backs, salary reductions and under-funded pension plans... mean that things are getting tougher... not easier.

The fact is, your organization is at RISK.

Your job is at STAKE.

Your paycheck is in JEOPARDY.

In the next 5 years, we will see the further loss of jobs in entire industries... a significant increase in the poverty level... fewer jobs paying more money... more jobs paying less money... reduced inflation-adjusted incomes... capped or reduced benefits... and reduced job security—at every level, within every organization.

What can you do in these tough times? What should you do?

Follow The Three Rules for Business Survival...

It doesn't matter if you're a company with 100,000 people, or you own a one horse dog and pony show. It doesn't matter if you are a church, a service organization, a bank, a newspaper, a TV station, an airline, a hospital, a contractor, an internet company or General Motors or Ford.

The challenge is identical.
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You must find a way to out-smart... out-hustle... out-perform... out-lead... out-communicate and out-produce your competition every step of the way. You need to produce significantly better results, and you need to do it BETTER, FASTER and CHEAPER than ever before.

How?
RULE #1: Never pass your INEFFICIENCIES on to your customers. They simply won't pay it.

RULE #2: Continuously improve your PVR (Price Value Ratio) to the point where your competition weeps!

RULE #3: Turn up your TQ at least 20 points.
A little more detail...

While we can't tell you in a few web pages what it takes 268 pages to discuss in Full Spectrum Career Power, here are a few of the major points:
Rule #1: Never pass your inefficiencies on to your customers. They simply won't pay it.

While I could go on about Wal-Mart-styled supply chain efficiencies, maintaining a pancake-flat organization chart, or making certain that you get 10 cents in value for every nickel you spend (EVA), the real opportunity lies in transforming your Comparative Advantage into a true Competitive Advantage.

What's your unique Comparative Advantage?

Two hundred years ago, the brilliant British economist, David Ricardo, formulated the notion of comparative differentials. Fast forward to the management buzzword of the nineties, "Core Competencies", and the message is the same: How you are inherently different, and how you exploit those differences, determines if you are able to successfully compete or not.

The easiest way to think about your Comparative Advantage is to zoom out to the world stage. Consider how inherently competitive a farmer in Japan would be if he tried to sell wheat against a farmer in Montana.

No matter how much capital he invested, or hard he worked, it would be impossible for him to compete.

Japan simply doesn't have the climate or landmass necessary for massive wheat production. Montana does. (There is a single wheat farm in Montana that is 45 MILES long and 14 MILES wide. Talk about a tremendous Comparative Advantage!)

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A powerful Comparative Advantage gives rise to an unstoppable Competitive Advantage.

If you've got one, FLAUNT it!

If you don't, find one fast.

Bottom line: If you do not have a strong Comparative Advantage, you will ALWAYS be the inefficient producer, with a Competitive Advantage that gets weaker by the minute.

Now, more than ever, you have to find a real Comparative Advantage, or you are headed down the path to extinction. This applies equally to countries, cities, states, industries, companies, departments—as well as your personal career. Especially your career.

If you're a hard-hit community like Lorain, Ohio with high unemployment, or a software engineer from Boulder, Colorado—who just watched his job get outsourced to Bangalore (India)—you have no option but to discover your core Comparative Advantage, and mercilessly promote it.

Practical Example: Consider the tale of two stores—Home Depot and Lowes. Virtually the same products, the same pricing, the same internal efficiencies, the same operational structures. Take any department from either, and you will instantly see the differences—if they have the right management in the departments.

The manager who merchandises and sells with flair and excitement... makes sure the department is "retail ready" at all times... keeps the associates fired up... is knowledgeable about current promotions... will take market share away from the other, simply because of that single manager's Comparative Advantage: Merchandising Leadership.

No question, a strong Competitive Advantage usually comes down to a handful of key people—each exhibiting a strong Comparative Advantage.

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Action: If you don't know how you personally, and your company collectively, are different, you can't effectively exploit your Comparative Advantage.

Discover how to make your inherent differences work.

"Know thyself" takes on an entirely different meaning in a results-driven, melt-down economy!

Rule #2: Continuously improve your PVR (Price Value Ratio) to the point where your competition weaps!

The age-old economics behind PVR is simple: annihilate the competion by providing extreme VALUE! Once you know your Comparative Advantage, there are 3 strategies for success:

1) You can be the High Value/High Price producer and succeed nicely. 2) You can be the Low Value/Low Price producer and still find success. 3) But, when you take on the mantle of the High Value/Low Price organization... you'll not only succeed brilliantly, but drive your competition nuts—forcing them to eternally remain in catchup mode.

Guaranteed Failure.

A word of caution. If you want to survive, you personally—and your organization collectively—must NEVER even be seen as the Low Value/High Price producer.

Who wants to pay more for less?

Of course this is guaranteed failure. Of course this is obvious. But why are there so many organizations—from restaurants... to manufacturers... to retailers... to banks... to government agencies—that simply don't "get it"?

Everybody wants more bang for the buck. Give it to them!

If you even think your PVR is out of line, take action to immediately realign it. The competition might not give you a second chance.

In this results-driven economy, you must actively seek to sharpen your PVR edge. If you are the small guy down the street going up against Home Depot and Lowes... or Lowes going up against Wal-Mart... PVR is everything.

Practical Example: If, at the end of the year, you want to take 10% to your bottom line, how much does a $1,000 mistake/inefficiency cost you? You would have to sell $10,000 more in product just to offset the cost ($1000/10%). This means you will have to pass this inefficiency on to your customer in higher prices (who won't pay it), or eat it (become less profitable).


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copy now!

The choice is clear. Become the High Value/Low Cost operation—or watch your competitive advantage vanish.

Action: Unleash your Comparative Advantage and Improve your PVR.

This advice applies equally to an organization of 200,000 employees... or to your career.

Your challenge is to perpetually maintain maximum differentiation—and maximum value.

Rule #3: Improve your TQ (Time Quotient) by 20 points starting today. Your future depends on it.

Please do not confuse TQ with TQM (Total Quality Management). The concepts are entirely different. TQ is the ENGINE that drives TQM!

TQ stands for your Time Quotient and reflects your inherent power to produce Results over Time.



Because this is now a results-driven global economy, we need a new way of thinking about Results at every level within an organization. Where Rules number 1 and 2 offer strategic guidance, a more tactical approach is required to insure organizational success.

TQ offers this tactical approach, giving you a strong strategic edge, personally and professionally.

How? TQ gives you the power to transform your Comparative Advantage into a powerful Competitive Advantage by maximizing the full potential of your most valuable resource: people.




The TQ Advantage.

TQ is an important new business fundamental that offers an immediate way to create a Results Revolution within your organization. If you want to virtually guarantee your organization's success, improve its TQ 20 points.

The reality of a results-driven global economy is that you can only become the High Value, Low Cost producer of goods and services if every single person in your organization is performing at—or near the top—of his/her productivity potential.

Because business conditions have become so "unforgiving", your organization will fail to make the grade unless every person in it—individually and collectively—consistently produces stunning results.

The Power of One...

In organizations with less than 100 people, the criticality of the individual to the whole cannot be overstated. Just 1 person with a poor, self-defeating attitude... or the inability to focus on clear goals and tangible objectives... or the inability to take swift action... can have a devastating effect on the whole. The TQ of just one person not only makes a difference, it ultimately tells the world how your organization is different from every other organization in the world.

Now, more than ever, triumph or extinction comes down to the weakest link in your chain of command... from Customer Services all the way up to CEO.

Yes, the TQ of everyone in your organization is what ultimately gives rise to BOTH your Comparative Advantage and Competitive Advantage.




What's Your Organization's Time Quotient?

Since organizations are comprised of people, built by people, run by people and ultimately serve people, it may be useful to check YOUR organization's TQ—to see how SMART it generates Results over Time.

Do the people within your organization have the fundamental skills to work smart and compete even smarter?

Are you sure?



TQ is a new brand of intelligence for this results-driven economy—a measurement of the actions you take to produce the Results you get over Time. Your Time Quotient is a reflection of how smart you ACT, not how smart you ARE.

Thus, TQ is the effective measurement of your Working Intelligence"... a Gold Standard measurement of your power to achieve the success you desire. Want to be more successful? Improve your TQ. The fact is that there is a perfect correlation between High TQ Performance and the four pillars of success: Wealth, Power, Happiness and Significance.

Why TQ matters.

Today, business success is not measured by good intentions—or how much effort you expend. Rather, success is dependent upon the Results actually produced in the Time you have: this month... this quarter... this year.

The simplicity of the formula says it all. You either get the Results you expect—or you don't. You either produce them in the Time expected—or you don't.

Admittedly, this is very basic stuff. But if it is so basic, why are there so many bankruptcies... so many people unemployed or under-employed... and so many companies holding on by a thread?

It's time to get back to basics!

Maybe if Wa Mu, Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers, K-Mart, United, MCI (World Con)—even Enron—had actually produced results beyond expectation, they wouldn't have put their stake-holders through the ringer. Think about it.

If TQ is the formula for success in a results-driven economy, and it is, the question becomes, are you capable of achieving results beyond expectation... or are you simply spinning your wheels, confusing EFFORT with RESULTS?

How would you know?

How well do you match up to the Gold Standard of personal and professional excellence?

What's the "Gold Standard" for creating a "Results Revolution" within your organization... or yourself, for that matter? Good question!

To answer this question, we created a simple, yet highly effective methodology for systematically evaluating your power to produce tangible results.

It's called a TQ Test... a unique new test based on your responses to 10 basic questions in each of 10 broad color-coded areas of your performance.

Testing Your TQ...


The Time Prism
A New Management Tool.

A prism splits light into its component colors. Our metaphor,The Time Prism, separates your performance into 10 Color-coded areas, each critical to producing exceptional results:
ENERGY
MISSION
ATTITUDE
SET GOALS
MAKE PLANS
PRIORITIZE
SYNERGIZE
ORGANIZE
OPTIMIZE
ACT NOW

By looking at the intensity of these 10 Colors, you can instantly see what's driving your power to produce RESULTS... at every point in TIME.


Your overall performance is made up of 10 key elements that drive your daily successes and failures.

These elements include your physical and mental Energy level... your sense of purpose and Mission... your Attitude... your ability to Set crystal-clear Goals... your ability to Make Plans to support your goals... your ability to Prioritize your tasks... your ability to create powerful interpersonal Synergy... your ability to Organize your activities and Optimize your time... and finally, your power to take swift Action.

These 10 areas (we call Colors) cause a never-ending stream of positives and negatives to flood your performance.

Take smarter actions, more frequently, and your performance exhibits greater positivity. Fail to take corrective action, and you unwittingly permit negativity to rule.

Which of the two do you believe produces greater results:

A—Someone who is highly Energetic, Passionate, Optimistic, Self-directed, Prepared, Focused, Supportive, Systematic, Timely and Proactive...

B—Someone who is frequently Drained, Directionless, Pessimistic, Vague, Rash, Scattered, Critical, Haphazard, Distracted, and Hesitant?

These are the flip side of the same Colors. No question, the person with more positives and fewer negatives is capabable of producing significantly better Results... and doing it in far less Time. The question is, how do you become an "A" player?

Turn your TQ up 20 points...

For simplicity purposes, we color-coded these core areas for instant observation, training and improvement.

By breaking your performance down into these 10 separate areas, we can instantly see your strengths and weaknesses.

By taking inventory of these strengths and weaknesses, we can then see exactly what's driving your performance, and by extension, PRECISELY what you need to do differently to produce greater results.
Editor Note: Learn more about the Gold Standard for Personal and Professional Excellence and what actually causes success. After 5 years of serious R&D and several million dollars, you might be interested in what we found!

Teaching Through Testing...

Because everything we do is built around our Teaching Through Testing concept, you may choose to get a quick evaluation of each Color as you read along. Just click the Personal Evaluation links below.

These Quick Quizzes provide a beneficial "spot-check" of your performance. Each takes about 2 minutes, and result in a condensed, 2 page evaluation of your score.

What's your actual TQ?

How well do you match up against the Gold Standard of personal and professional excellence? Are you at the top of your game, or at the bottom of the heap? There's only one way to find out. Test your TQ to see!

Our full TQ Test takes about 20 minutes to complete. You might want to set aside some time to take it when you are not distracted or preoccupied. It's free, fun and will cast a much-needed light on the forces currently driving your performance.



Powerful People = Powerful Results...
Which Yields Organizational Success.

Below are the 10 Colors of powerful performance, along with some brief commentary that applies equally to you personally, and your organization. If you think a given area is causing you problems, take the Quick Test for that Color.

If you score less than 7 on two or three different Colors, you are in real trouble. Choose a Color, and take action to improve it now.
Your ENERGY TQ...

Business Case: If the people in your organization have a low ENERGY level—mentally and/or physically— there's no way they can keep up the relentless pace your competition is setting. You need to set the pace, or get out of the race.

Personal Evaluation: What's your Energy TQ Score? Do you have the sustained physical ENERGY level needed to consistently produce outstanding results this year?

Your MISSION TQ...

Business Case: If the people you work with have a weak sense of MISSION, your organization will lack purpose and direction. Rewards go to people who know where they're headed... and have the power to get there fast.

Wake up call: In a recent survey, less than 30% of the people polled say they understand their organization's Mission Statement and how it relates to them personally.

Personal Evaluation: How's your sense of MISSION and purpose right now—high or low? Are you trading the only life you have for things that simply don't matter?

Your ATTITUDE TQ...

Business Case: If your people have a poor attitude, it shows up in everything from product development to customer service. Without a positive and proactive attitude, your organization might as well hang it up, as it's defeated before it even gets started.

Personal Evaluation: What's your Attitude TQ Score? Was your ATTITUDE mostly POSITIVE and optimistic last week? Last month? Last Year?

Your SET GOALS TQ...

Business Case: If your people lack the ability to set crystal-clear goals for themselves, their departments won't have a chance to achieve your stated Mission. Worse, they can't connect the dots from your MISSION to your short and long term GOALS.

Warning: In a recent survey, less than 45% said they understand their organization's goals, and even fewer have a shared sense of those goals.

Personal Evaluation: Have you been guided by crystal-clear GOALS so far this year? Are you good at sharing your goals with others?

Your MAKE PLANS TQ...

Business Case: If your people lack the ability to make rock-solid plans for key goals, your organization will spin its wheels, going 100 miles an hour in the wrong direction. Good planning eliminates mistakes. Remember, the market pays for results, not mistakes.

Personal Evaluation: Do you have realistic plans to support your major goals this year, both personally and professionally?

Your PRIORITIZE TQ...

Business Case: If your people lack the ability to prioritize their actions, there's no way you can honestly say your company is focused on what's most important—because your people have no clue what's more important than something else.

Fact: An organization without focus is a target waiting for the bullet—not an opportunity waiting to happen.

Personal Evaluation: Have you remained focused on your top PRIORITIES this month? Can you correctly separate what's important from the merely urgent?

Your SYNERGIZE TQ...

Business Case: If the people in your organization lack the ability to build teams and create SYNERGY, there's no way to expand and grow your influence. You can't shrink to greatness, nor can your organization become a powerhouse without developing strong strategic alliances.

Teamwork, collaboration and communication skills are key. Hiring lone eagles isn't the mistake. Letting them fly solo is.

Personal Evaluation: Are you a master at creating powerful leverage through interpersonal synergy? Are you seen as a team-builder... or "an army of one"?


Your ORGANIZE TQ...

Business Case: If your people lack the ability to organize their work flow, your company will fall victim to a paralysis of inefficiencies. In this economy, you can't pass your inefficiencies on to your customers. They simply won't pay it.

Personal Evaluation: Just how organized are you? Did your ORGANIZATIONAL systems make it harder or easier for you last month?

Your OPTIMIZE TQ...

Business Case: If your people lack the ability to optimize their time, you'll be the big-time looser in this just in time, instant-everything "FedEx" society.

Note: A little too little—a little too late—may have been OK before. Now, it's fatal.

Personal Evaluation: How were your personal clock management skills last month? Did you make every minute matter?

Your ACT NOW TQ...

Business Case: If your people don't take swift action to make things happen, your organization will wonder "what happened" as it is reorganized out of existence.

We're leaving the Information Age and entering the Age of Action. With information overload, only people trained to sort it out and take bold action will survive. Indeed, they will prosper!

Personal Evaluation: Are you action-oriented, or do you frequently find yourself "getting ready to get ready", permitting procrastination to decimate your performance?


FYI: With millions of data points, the average composition of all TQ Scores in our database is only 51.3. This means that, on a scale of 1 to 10, HALF the people we survey ADMIT to significant performance issues!

To put the above numbers in perspective, would you want to work with someone who only had a plan 38% of the time... was organized just 51% of the time... frequently wasted their (and your) time (48%)... frequently had a poor attitude (47%)... and lacked a clear sense of purpose and direction 70% of the time? No, I don't think so!

Conclusion: Improve the TQ of every person in your organization... starting FIRST with YOU!

Please remember this. Organizations are only as POWERFUL as their people permit. Organizations are only as PROFITABLE as their people permit.

It is my considered belief that if your organization's TQ remains under 75 for any length of time, YOU are toast.

Why? Because you lack the results-producing power to take mind-share and market-share away from your competition. You will SHRINK while they will GROW.

Sooner or later, a fierce competitor with high TQ People will not only eat your lunch—you will BE the lunch upon which they dine!

ACTION: Choose one area of your performance—either a dominate strength or limiting weakness—and take action to improve it today.


Full Spectrum Career Power answers the single most important question you face—a question that is now controlling your life:
"What Color is Your Performance?"

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